About

About

The Downtown Auxiliory Mobile Services (DAMS) program is operated by the Innercity Women’s Initiatives Society which is a non-profit organisation operating in the Downtown Eastside area of Vancouver.

Organisationally, the Society maintains a full-time staff of three as well as some part-time resources. All staff are directly connected to the DAMS program. The Society has an Executive Director, Linda Dewar, who reports to a volunteer Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors is made up of individuals from a variety of health related organisations and other professions.

Much of DAMS programming is delivered through or in conjunction with other organisations. We build strategic partnerships with other organizations to build community capacity and maximize our efficiency.

Inner-City Women’s Initiatives Society’s Guiding Principals

We see women as the experts in their own lives and work with them to reduce the harm associated with their current situations

We profoundly believe that all women deserve respect, dignity, and the power to make their own decisions

We strive for prevention rather than crisis intervention

We see our role as a facilitator and encourage women to help themselves and each other to make positive changes and reduce high risk behaviours

We follow a case management approach and support women in making their own choices

We meet women wherever they are most comfortable

We work in close partnerships with other community organizations to provide a continuum of care and ensure women have support and access to services as needed

We never do for one woman anything we cannot, or are not willing to, do for every woman we work with

We seek to be led by women in the community in all of our endeavors and undertakings

We serve all women, including those who are coping with impacts of trauma, gender biases, addiction, oppression, and those who are at risk or who have mental and or physical health issues

Support us

We provide outreach to women on the downtown eastside of Vancouver. The women we help suffer from trauma, drug addition, and often mental health issues. Our approach is based on harm reduction, including distributing harm reduction supplies, and making connections with women, to refer to other agencies for housing, medical care, and other supports. READ MORE